[SPOILERS] GENESIS 2021 setlist discussion

    When you think about the 2007 setlist, the few genuine surprises (measured as songs not played over the several previous tours) were Duke’s Intro, Duke’s Travels, Ripples, and perhaps Carpet Crawlers. I’m thinking the surprises on this tour will be fairly limited again. Maybe Squonk, Duchess, and some part of Supper’s Ready. Hopefully I’m wrong and there will be more, but I find Tony’s comment that, given a two hour set limit and considering the hit songs the band feels they need to play, “some of the old dogs won’t be running” to be disconcerting for those of us who are hoping for more old stuff to be included in the setlist.

    Quote from MoonlitKnight

    When you think about the 2007 setlist, the few genuine surprises (measured as songs not played over the several previous tours) were Duke’s Intro, Duke’s Travels, Ripples, and perhaps Carpet Crawlers. I’m thinking the surprises on this tour will be fairly limited again. Maybe Squonk, Duchess, and some part of Supper’s Ready. Hopefully I’m wrong and there will be more, but I find Tony’s comment that, given a two hour set limit and considering the hit songs the band feels they need to play, “some of the old dogs won’t be running” to be disconcerting for those of us who are hoping for more old stuff to be included in the setlist.

    Ah, the straight jacket of a static setlist.


    Actually that just got me thinking. If they varied the setlist from night to night, it could have been called the... ahem, "No Straight Jacket Required" tour.


    I'll get my coat...

    Quote from thewatcher

    Ah, the straight jacket of a static setlist.


    Actually that just got me thinking. If they varied the setlist from night to night, it could have been called the... ahem, "No Straight Jacket Required" tour.


    I'll get my coat...

    “That’s gold . . . GOLD!” :D

    Quote from MoonlitKnight

    I find Tony’s comment that, given a two hour set limit and considering the hit songs the band feels they need to play, “some of the old dogs won’t be running” to be disconcerting for those of us who are hoping for more old stuff to be included in the setlist.

    To be honest, I interpreted Tony's comment as meaning that some long-running live staples (these being the "old dogs" and not necessarily just "old" i.e. prog era songs) may not be played in favor of presenting a broader picture of Genesis as both a prog band and a pop group within a two-hour timeframe. Tbh it could go either way at this point since it seems the band is trying to be as vague as possible regarding a potential setlist to avoid alienating fans of either Gabriel-era or Collins-led Genesis. Still lookin' forward to the show though, regardless of what songs are played.

    Quote from RolandCopping93

    To be honest, I interpreted Tony's comment as meaning that some long-running live staples (these being the "old dogs" and not necessarily just "old" i.e. prog era songs) may not be played in favor of presenting a broader picture of Genesis as both a prog band and a pop group within a two-hour timeframe. Tbh it could go either way at this point since it seems the band is trying to be as vague as possible regarding a potential setlist to avoid alienating fans of either Gabriel-era or Collins-led Genesis. Still lookin' forward to the show though, regardless of what songs are played.

    Oops-I just reread a BBC article from 2020 that credited the “old dog” comment to Phil. I thought for sure that Tony said that, but I guess I was wrong. In the interview Phil made a point of saying songs that featured his drumming would be removed. I’m not sure what to make of that. No Los Endos in the setlist? No Behind the Lines? No SHBTS? No Firth of Fifth? No Cinema Show as part of an old medley? No Afterglow? If so I guess we really might get some stuff that hasn’t been played for a while.

    Quote from MoonlitKnight

    Oops-I just reread a BBC article from 2020 that credited the “old dog” comment to Phil. I thought for sure that Tony said that, but I guess I was wrong. In the interview Phil made a point of saying songs that featured his drumming would be removed. I’m not sure what to make of that. No Los Endos in the setlist? No Behind the Lines? No SHBTS? No Firth of Fifth? No Cinema Show as part of an old medley? No Afterglow? If so I guess we really might get some stuff that hasn’t been played for a while.

    Yeah, you're right, I ended up re-reading the same article as well right after making my previous post (although it does seem like a typically Banksian thing to say lol).


    I agree, though. If they can't play most of the "Phil-centric" tracks then they're going to have to put in other songs to fill in those gaps, and hopefully at least some of these songs are ones that haven't been played live for some time (or never at all!).

    Drop the badly out of place Spike and you've got a nice set there, in fact with that amendment it's just about the best, not unfeasible least silly suggestion in this thread, for me anyway.

    Abandon all reason

    Quote from Backdrifter

    Drop the badly out of place Spike and you've got a nice set there, in fact with that amendment it's just about the best, not unfeasible least silly suggestion in this thread, for me anyway.

    When I was typing that set I felt like I was missing one that seemed like a no-brainer; "No Son of Mine" can go in that spot.


    I'm actually not big on BOTRT's being in there (unless they pull a Stones with Mick Taylor and bring Steve out just for it) either, a full "Cinema Show," "Supper," "Musical Box," or "In The Cage" would be there.


    "In the Cage" will always make my fantasy set, but I have a gut feeling we won't see it this time around. Listening to the 2007 versions, I don't think I'll miss it.

    Quote from Backdrifter

    Drop the badly out of place Spike and you've got a nice set there, in fact with that amendment it's just about the best, not unfeasible least silly suggestion in this thread, for me anyway.

    Agreed. Although I love Spike and would much prefer the full Tonight, Tonight, Tonight, as you say, it balances quite feasible and not silly with being the best.

    Many Too Many is possible - I seem to recall at least some members had spoken about it as a consideration previously.


    If they drop the numbers that really featured Phil's drumming, that would eliminate many live staples: Cinema Show instrumental, Firth of Fifth instrumental, 2nd Home By the Sea, Los Endos. It also makes the Fading Lights instrumental less likely.


    If they are dropping some longstanding features of their setlists, In the Cage makes sense as they have played it for most tours since 1978 except the We Can't Dance tour.

    Quote from Dr. John

    Many Too Many is possible - I seem to recall at least some members had spoken about it as a consideration previously.


    If they drop the numbers that really featured Phil's drumming, that would eliminate many live staples: Cinema Show instrumental, Firth of Fifth instrumental, 2nd Home By the Sea, Los Endos. It also makes the Fading Lights instrumental less likely.


    If they are dropping some longstanding features of their setlists, In the Cage makes sense as they have played it for most tours since 1978 except the We Can't Dance tour.

    I’d assume it also means no Apocalypse in 9/8 as part of an Old Medley. This is all a bit perplexing and frustrating to me. All the Gabriel-era songs at the time were played live with a single drummer. Nic is supposed to be so skilled at sounding like his dear ol’ dad on the kit. It’s not clear to me why these songs can’t be played live again with one drummer. Also, does this rule out later songs with extended instrumental sections like Behind the Lines and Abacab? I guess the one upside is it opens the door to some of the material that weren’t so laden with drum-heavy instrumental sections—Squonk, Eleventh Earl, Duchess, etc.

    Quote from MoonlitKnight

    I’d assume it also means no Apocalypse in 9/8 as part of an Old Medley. This is all a bit perplexing and frustrating to me. All the Gabriel-era songs at the time were played live with a single drummer. Nic is supposed to be so skilled at sounding like his dear ol’ dad on the kit. It’s not clear to me why these songs can’t be played live again with one drummer. Also, does this rule out later songs with extended instrumental sections like Behind the Lines and Abacab? I guess the one upside is it opens the door to some of the material that weren’t so laden with drum-heavy instrumental sections—Squonk, Eleventh Earl, Duchess, etc.

    As is mainly the point in such a thread, we're overthinking this but that's the nutjob fan's perogative. It's one thing to chew over our setlist thoughts and fantasies but there's no point getting frustrated and perplexed about what we simply don't know. Bear in mind a few posts back you said

    Quote from MoonlitKnight

    I guess we really might get some stuff that hasn’t been played for a while

    which would be a potentially very interesting prospect. If it happens.

    Abandon all reason

    My hope is that this time around songs won't get dismissed out of hand due to lyrics alone, as has often happened in the past. That Phil is once again up for Abacab hopefully opens the door for others like Many Too Many...

    Quote from Dr. John

    Many Too Many is possible - I seem to recall at least some members had spoken about it as a consideration previously.


    If they drop the numbers that really featured Phil's drumming, that would eliminate many live staples: Cinema Show instrumental, Firth of Fifth instrumental, 2nd Home By the Sea, Los Endos. It also makes the Fading Lights instrumental less likely.


    If they are dropping some longstanding features of their setlists, In the Cage makes sense as they have played it for most tours since 1978 except the We Can't Dance tour.

    I've never fully understood Phil's dislike for that song, personally I think it's one of the best on ATTW3 and looking at the chords sequence it absolutely seems, like something Phil could have written.

    Quote from Backdrifter

    As is mainly the point in such a thread, we're overthinking this but that's the nutjob fan's perogative. It's one thing to chew over our setlist thoughts and fantasies but there's no point getting frustrated and perplexed about what we simply don't know. Bear in mind a few posts back you said

    which would be a potentially very interesting prospect. If it happens.

    Point well taken. I guess what I would say upon further reflection is I can be perplexed without being frustrated. Perplexed at Phil perhaps closing the door on certain songs despite the fact they can be played just fine with a single drummer. But not frustrated, given that as I noted in my most recent post this might open the door to songs we haven’t heard for several tours, such as Squonk, EEOM, and Duchess.

    Quote from Fabrizio

    I've never fully understood Phil's dislike for that song, personally I think it's one of the best on ATTW3 and looking at the chords sequence it absolutely seems, like something Phil could have written.

    Does he dislike it? I never knew that. It's one of my favorites on that album too, and one of the harder to explain omissions from live sets. If one of the members had a strong feeling against it I guess that would explain that. I always wondered if they had the same problem they had with Way of the World (couldn't think of a way to end the song).